I'm sure every teacher can relate: I
should be doing school work of some sort, but instead I find everything else under the sun to do -- clean the house, laundry, concoct some elaborate recipe that will fail, watch really bad reality TV, or, my personal favorite, go online, buy WAY too many books, and then park on the couch to start reading those books as soon as they arrive.
Let's just say I've spent a lot of time on the couch lately, and I've read some great books.
The first one I ate up was
Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich. I love Erdrich's Native American stories (
LaRose, The Round House). Her writing voice is absolutely beautiful and poetic. This book didn't disappoint in the beauty of the voice, but the story was underwhelming. Essentially it's
Handmaid's Tale revisited, a dystopian future where pregnant women are valued and in jeopardy at the same time, and where a new Christian-based government reigns supreme. There's hints of a commentary on the world today and flashes of the Native American culture which usually permeates Erdrich stories, but it all feels superficial and, ultimately, disappointing.
I read Rebecca Wait's
The Followers in a day. The story moves between the past where single mother Stephanie and her 12-year-old daughter, Judith, are drawn into a religion cult and the present where Stephanie is in prison. While the story is predictable, it still horrifies. I am fascinated by how people who are strong minded and independent, which Stephanie is, get drawn into a cult where all individuality is squelched. Watching Stephanie meet, fall in love with, get wooed and manipulated by the man who brings her into the cult shows just how slowly and painstakingly the process could happen. I loved that Judith remained the independent, rebellious voice throughout her mother's descent. This book felt especially relevant as one of the most notorious cult leaders, Charles Manson, just died; the crime in this book has a Manson-esque quality to it.
I listened to
Over the Edge of the World: Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe by Laurence Bergreen. I knew virtually nothing about Magellan and his excursion prior to reading this book. I even had to look up where the Straits of Magellan were on a map -- and I learned that I live only 6,700 miles away from it (and, according to google maps, I can't get there from here). Listening to the political intrigue, high seas adventures, bold mutinies followed by swift and severe punishment, interactions with island cultures, the right and wrong turns to discover the straits, the sea battles, the rediscovery of the Spice Islands, and the perilous journey home was breathtaking. I learned so much from this book, and all the while I was swept away by the smooth narrative and the unbelievable courage of explorers who literally thought they were going to go over the edge of the world.
On the quest for books that represent all of my students, I discovered
Queer, There, and Everywhere by Sarah Prager. This book covers 23 historical figures from ancient Rome to today who are queer, a term the author uses to cover all variations of gender and sexual identity. This book is very much a young adult text; the tone is light and the information brief, but the information is so important for our queer students to see. This is a population which is too often invisible, and their contributions to history has been as extraordinary as all other groups. I knew I HAD to have this book in my classroom when a student picked it up yesterday and started to make fun of it. I shut that down, and it reminded me of what many students have to deal with every day -- the dismissal of their identities or, worse, constant ridicule and mocking. A book like this is critical to educate those who don't know about the contributions of queer people to world history and to validate students who are queer.
Then I picked up
Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser as my next audiobook. I loved, LOVED the
Little House books when I was a kid, and, of course, it never occurred to me that those books might not be the most accurate portrayal of life on the prairie. Turns out (which, as an adult I think to myself -- no kidding!) Laura Ingalls essentially was a myth maker almost more than a history writer. Like the Magellan story, I know so little about westward expansion, being a pioneer farmer, or what happened to the Native Americans, and this book opened my eyes. Then, because I hadn't read any of the
Little House books since I was about eight years old, I also picked up
Little House on the Prairie to read again. It's a great contrast to read the myth and listen to the reality at the same time.
One of these days I need to refocus and get back to that school work which is still hanging there waiting for some love and attention. Until then, I have a stack of books that will keep me well distracted for the foreseeable future! Happy reading ya'll!
